Top News:
Mark Simon / ESPN:
The MVPs of the Yanks-Red Sox rivalry — Here's our list of the most clutch hitters and pitchers when these two teams tangle — We were looking this week for a discussion topic that would stir up both Yankees and Red Sox fans, as the two teams prepare to clash this week. We think we found one.
RELATED:
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Rare Rivera blown save leads to loss — Closer gives up slam to Kubel as Yanks can't finish sweep — NEW YORK — The reality of Mariano Rivera coughing up a late-inning lead still serves as a jolt to the senses after all these years, a rare occurrence that seems to compel those in pinstripes …
Mark Sheldon / MLB.com:
Reds jump into first behind Arroyo's gem — Righty hurls first complete game of season in win vs. Cards — CINCINNATI — Sure, it's only mid-May and 37 games into the season, but if the door to first place is opened by the team occupying it, why not go through and take it?
RELATED:
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Pujols ‘uncomfortable’? — CINCINNATI — Reds starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo knows there probably will be a day of reckoning. — But for now, he sees Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols as an uncomfortable hitter. — “Right now, Albert looks a little bit more uncomfortable at the plate …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Fox Sports:
Source: Nats to call up first-round pick — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — Right-hander Drew Storen, the second of the Nationals' two No. 1 picks last year, is headed to the major leagues.
RELATED:
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
If losing continues, Sox could be losing veteran players too — Rangers inquire about availability of Pierzynski — A.J. Pierzynski is tagged out while sliding into third by Royals' Alberto Callaspo. (Jamie Squire, Getty Images / May 16, 2010) — KANSAS CITY, Mo. …
RELATED:
New York Post:
Last-place Mets must fire Jerry Manuel — Mets on Twitter — The game, and the Mets' season, was encapsulated by one inning yesterday, and it wasn't exactly the kind of thing you want to put in a time capsule. There were two errors (and should've been three). There was indifferent pitching.
RELATED:
Fox Sports:
Sorry Lou, but Cubs might need a change — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — The Cubs, 5 1/2 games out in the National League Central, are just one hot streak away from jumping into serious contention.
RELATED:
Andy Martino / Surfing The Mets:
Sources: Mets have payroll for pitching, not for Pedro — Oliver Perez has been banished to the bullpen. Jon Niese is injured. John Maine began his start Saturday by throwing 12 consecutive balls. The Mets know they need pitching and, according to sources, they will have the payroll flexibility …
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
New York Mets outfielder Jason Bay getting his rhthm back at the plate, feels breakout is near — MIAMI - Jason Bay would rather wiggle than feel like a statue. — When Bay is uncomfortable at the plate, as he has been for much of this season, he feels stiff and still.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
TSN.ca:
SURGING PHILLIES COMPLETE THREE-GAME SWEEP IN MILWAUKEE — The Sports Network — Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Wilson Valdez's run-scoring double in the third proved to be the difference, as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2, to complete a three-game series sweep at Miller Park.
Jay Mariotti / FanHouse:
Media Have No Business Voting for Sports Honors — We, the media, are entrusted to report the news and comment on the news. We are not supposed to be making the news, unless, of course, you're Ron Burgundy summoning the News Team for a back-alley gang brawl with knives and tridents.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Susan Slusser / San Francisco Chronicle:
Duchscherer probably done for the season — (05-17) 04:00 PDT ANAHEIM — Justin Duchscherer went on the disabled list Sunday, having come off it just one day before, and it's more than likely that his season is over. — Duchscherer anticipates that he'll need surgery to resolve the problem …
Discussion:
HardballTalk